Keeping these record reserve levels in context is key to understanding just how far behind the state is in terms of sound fiscal management and how much work is still left to be done. It took unprecedented revenues and billions in one-time federal aid to get the state rainy day fund beyond the level of a joke.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.